22/04/01
Lead
"The harder it gets, the more meaningful it makes."
Author 丨 Cui Liwen
Responsible editor 丨 Xu Jinkai
Edit 丨 Chic
In 2022, for several new forces that want to roll up their sleeves and make a big deal out of it, it seems to have a hint of backfire and a little more magical. As for the reason, it is very simple, or it comes from the sudden change in the overall industry environment.
The epidemic, the lack of cores, and the soaring prices of raw materials for power batteries are like a pair of invisible pushers, changing the route of their original plans, and also testing their ability to resist risks and adapt to changes.
Fortunately, compared with the suffocating darkest hours of many years ago, the impact of the present is only temporary. When survival is no longer a problem, it is necessary to consider how to live better.
In the past March, with the successive results of terminal delivery, many trending things can already be reflected behind the numbers. Some people continue to win the crown, some people have achieved historical breakthroughs, and some people are still stagnant.
As a bystander, what I want to say is: "The more difficult it is, the more meaningful it is." "In this era, I originally liked the kind of story of living to die.
1
Breaking ten thousand, must be done
There is no doubt that standing at this node, with the expansion of several car-making product lines that have achieved large-scale delivery of new forces, the improvement of brand recognition and even the increasing expansion of the entire new energy market, "10,000 vehicles per month" has become a qualified line to measure their performance.
And this morning, Zero Run became the first to publish the report card. Judging by the end result, there was no disappointment. A total of 10,059 new vehicles were delivered in March, with monthly deliveries increasing by more than 200% year-on-year for 12 consecutive months. For the entire first quarter, cumulative deliveries reached 21,579 units, up 410% year-on-year.
"In 2022, it's time for us to take the initiative to rush out and join the top team. And I hope that all colleagues in technology research and development, manufacturing, and marketing can shine and heat up as much as possible. ”
Last year, on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the establishment of Zero Run, Zhu Jiangming issued an open letter, and this is the most important message. At this moment, with the monthly sales exceeding 10,000 for the first time, it can already prove that he has not broken his word.
And it is also a special moment when the supply chain is under serious pressure and the manufacturing end is violently impacted, which is particularly precious. T03 and C11 are two products, which are located in the hot sales of their respective market segments, and also provide more powerful support.
In contrast, Nezha, whose development path is somewhat similar to zero running, has become the second new force to publish the report card, and the performance is more prominent. In March, a total of 12,026 new vehicles were delivered, an increase of 270% year-on-year, and 30,152 new vehicles were delivered in the first quarter, an increase of 305% year-on-year.
In terms of specific models, the Nezha V series delivered 8,122 units, a record high of 153% year-on-year, and the Nezha U Pro delivered 3,904 units, an increase of 9660% year-on-year, which is expected to be the third place in the sales of pure electric SUVs of the new car manufacturing force for four consecutive months.
"If we hadn't started in the low-end market, it might have existed a long time ago." At this moment, I still clearly remember that in the interview at last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, Daniel Zhang, as the CEO of the company, very frankly told the key reason why this car company was able to break through.
Indeed, the use of Nezha V is located in the terminal to gain a firm foothold, with Nezha U Pro continued to break through upwards, which together contributed to its sales of more than 10,000 for many consecutive months. For the head three, it can also be described by step-by-step pressing.
After Nezha, the third to announce the results was ideal, delivering a total of 11,034 new vehicles in March, an increase of 125.2% year-on-year. In the case of only one model of the ideal ONE on sale, it continues to maintain a very stable output. In the entire first quarter, a total of 31,716 new vehicles were delivered, an increase of 152.1% year-on-year.
As the fourth new force to release data, NIO delivered 9,985 vehicles in March, an increase of 37.6% year-on-year, only 15 vehicles away from breaking 10,000. In the entire first quarter, a total of 25,768 new vehicles were delivered, an increase of 28.5% year-on-year.
As of the end of March 2022, the total number of new vehicles delivered was 192,838. In addition, the ET7 began deliveries on March 28, and as of March 31, 163 vehicles have been delivered.
However, in the face of the above performance, I still want to remind Weilai that no matter how much of a leading edge it has at the brand level and the average selling price level, as a car company, it still needs to prove itself at the sales level. The three "866" SUVs currently on sale are undoubtedly gradually showing the meaning of weakness. Fortunately, in a little over a month, something will change.
And the last Xiaopeng brings people even greater surprises. In March, total deliveries reached 15,414 units, up 148% month-on-month. Xiaopeng P7's monthly deliveries exceeded the 9,000 mark for the first time, reaching 9,183 units. In the entire first quarter, a total of 34,561 new cars were delivered, winning the new power delivery championship for the third consecutive quarter.
From this horizontal comparison of Weilai and ideal, it is not difficult to find that although Xiaopeng has a certain gap in the average selling price, the conversion angle brings it the richest product structure between the three, and the range of 150,000-400,000 yuan covered by the models on sale is also the most extensive.
In other words, with only the current strategic layout analysis, Xiaopeng is located in the terminal to undoubtedly include more potential users, and then achieve maximum quantitative change. At this point, it can be said that the delivery of the five new forces that have come out of the quagmire in March has been basically completed.
However, it should be emphasized that this paragraph is not yet concluded. Because with the entry of independent new energy brands hatched by traditional car companies like Extreme Kr and E-An, they have also become a living force that cannot be ignored.
However, the former was limited by various unfavorable factors, delivering only 1,795 new vehicles in March and 8,241 new vehicles in the first quarter. The latter, on the other hand, was very strong, with sales exceeding the 20,000-unit mark for the first time in March to 20,317 units, up 189% year-on-year, and cumulative sales in the first quarter reached 44,874 units.
After the two car companies were put together into the new force delivery list, we can see that the ranking has also changed. Aeon surpassed Xiaopeng and was elected as the monthly and quarterly sales champion.
2
In a difficult environment, push the new
At the beginning of this paragraph, it is first necessary to explain that in March, the above-mentioned new forces to build cars ushered in a collective "breaking 10,000", more because of their respective announcements as "delivery", considering the long waiting cycle, the corresponding orders are accumulated a few months ago.
At this moment, whether the sudden changes in the general environment will have a huge impact on itself, it is not possible to feedback it in time with numbers, and there is a certain lag. But it is certain that the current situation of each family is difficult to say relaxed.
In particular, Shanghai, as their respective absolute main sales markets, has been in a state of stagnation since the outbreak of the epidemic began in March, and now with Pudong and Puxi beginning to take turns to enter a "quiet period", it has basically fallen into a state of stagnation.
Although thanks to the direct operation model, it is possible to order cars online, but it is still unable to stop the decline in actual demand. The delivery performance of all people throughout the second quarter is likely to be collectively less than expected.
To make matters worse, there is also a surging "price increase tide", the fundamental reason is still due to the soaring price of power battery raw materials, how exaggerated?
As early as January 2021, the average spot price of electrolytic cobalt was about 270,000 yuan / ton, and at this moment, it has exceeded 540,000 yuan / ton, an increase of 100%. In the same period, the mainstream quotation range of the battery-grade lithium carbonate market was between 495,000 and 506,000 yuan, and the average price rose to 500,400 yuan / ton.
In just one year, both prices have increased by more than 10 times. And not only the prices of raw materials such as cobalt and lithium continue to rise, but also the prices of manganese, nickel, zinc, copper, iron, chromium, platinum, ruthenium and other metal raw materials involving electric vehicle manufacturing are also rising rapidly.
"In the past, a battery can still be controlled at about 70,000 yuan, and now it is basically floating 30,000-40,000 yuan, the cost is really uncontrollable, we still have to consider making money after all, so we can only helplessly choose to be forced to increase prices."
Such a paragraph can already reflect the common suffering of the new forces in car building. Even if you don't want to admit it, you must know in your heart that the "price increase" will affect the sales side of its own models on sale.
Fortunately, thankfully, in recent times, such as Weilai and Xiaopeng have released Q4 and 2021 financial reports, in the conference call, whether Li Bin or He Xiaopeng, they all believe that the current crazy fluctuations in the price of raw materials for power batteries, or the capital speculation component is high, and the supply and demand relationship is still relatively balanced in the long run.
For this year's sales expectations, we are also very optimistic. He Xiaopeng once again set up the latest Flag of Xiaopeng P7 and Xiaopeng P5 to break through the monthly sales mark of 10,000 vehicles. As for the Xiaopeng G9, it will also be officially tested by users in the third quarter.
Judging from the new rhythm of Weilai, ET7 has now begun to be delivered. Due to the epidemic, ES7's press conference this month has been postponed to late May. At that time, ES8, ES6, EC6 will also usher in the redesigned models, and ES7, ET5 will be delivered in the third quarter of this year.
From last year's unlicensed play to six brand new hole cards at the same time this year, the new force is recovering everything it lost in the past.
As for the ideal, I believe that most people are no longer familiar with the L9, a new car that will be released soon. Since march, some of the product strength information about it has been disclosed on its official Weibo every Wednesday. Such a low-cost and efficient marketing method also provides a template for the entire industry to learn from.
On the other hand, zero-run and Nezha, the new tasks in front of the two are very similar, both rely on the zero-run C01 and Nezha S two pure electric coupe models, to enter the subdivision plate that has never been involved. In turn, it helps each brand to continue to rise and soar.
At the end of the article, I still want to say that even if the environment is too difficult, several new forces still need to try their best to overcome many challenges, and they dare not stop for a moment to push the new pace. After all, it is no longer a problem to break through 10,000 in the month, and there are higher targets such as 20,000 monthly sales, waiting for them in front of them.
At the same time, when the tide of electrification comes, the relationship between all brands is not only against each other, but also teammates on the same track. How to convert traditional fuel vehicle users more, faster and more thoroughly is what they should really consider.
Cui Liwen
Love the car as fate,
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